A new pedestrian and cycling path and an open space designed in partnership with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elders, has opened in Calder Park.
The new path across the eastern side of the Calder Park Drive road bridge features a striking switchback design in colours inspired by the surrounding grasslands. The elevated structure provides a gentle gradient for pedestrians and cyclists connecting to the bridge, improving accessibility and safety.
The open space includes seating, landscaping and historical markers designed in collaboration with the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation.
Elements of Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung history of the Victorian Volcanic Plains on which Calder Park is located are featured, adding a rich layer of storytelling and honouring the ongoing place of First Peoples in the area.
The space also includes welcome markers with the Woi-wurrung word for welcome, ‘Wominjeka’, and benches made from rammed earth.
A contemporary design has been etched into the ground representing a Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung gathering place, as well as footprints from both the extinct megafauna Diprotodon optatum, the largest-known marsupial to have ever lived, and the critically endangered plains-wanderer, a local species of wading bird.
Wurundjeri Elders are encouraging visitors to the space to learn about Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung culture through information panels installed in the area.
The Calder Park Drive Level Crossing Removal Project is complete and we have planted more than 100,000 plants, trees and grasses across the project area.
The dangerous Calder Park Drive and Holden Drive level crossings are now gone for good and the Sunbury Line is boom gate free.
